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Car washes and detailers in Russell County, AL

How Russell County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for car washes and detailers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,101 of 1,451 scored counties
#23 of 35 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
11
4 chain locations (36%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$19.5M
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $816 a household
Spending per listing
$1.8M
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.6
21% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
58,898
−0.6% since 2020

See the car washes and detailers around any address in Russell County

The site report maps the car washes and detailers on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Russell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for car washes and detailers in Russell County is 35 (lower middle), #1,101 of 1,451 scored counties and #23 of 35 scored counties in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 car washes and detailers in Russell County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 36%, against 23% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.6, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8.

Household spending on vehicle maintenance and repairs in Russell County comes to about $19.5M a year: $816 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.8M of household spending for each location on map listings, 29% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which car washes and detailers share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in Russell County classed as car washes. That is one for every 7,979 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Russell County declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Russell County compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the car washes and detailers counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Car washes and detailing in Russell County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureRussell CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.64.13.8
Spending per listing$1.8M$2.3M$2.5M
Households per official establishment7,9797,1596,523
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+43.1%+16.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$816$929$958
Median household income$51,197$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score3549

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
11
Annual payroll, 2023
$331K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
114 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as car washes in Russell County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Russell County

Population, 2025 estimate
58,898−0.6% since 2020
Households
23,938
Median age
38.3
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
641 sq. mi.
People per square mile
92
Median household income
$51,197+20.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$67,551
Median home value
$165,700
Jobs located here
13,941
Daytime population
51,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Russell County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the car washes and detailers on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Russell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Car washes and detailing across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for car washes and detailers, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Russell County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for car washes and detailers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Chilton County, AL7852.8$3.6M+5.9%#74 of 1,451
2Baldwin County, AL78292.9$3.3M+14.8%#79 of 1,451
3Lee County, AL78202.9$3.3M+8.6%#80 of 1,451
4Shelby County, AL73333.8$2.8M+6.5%#167 of 1,451
5Limestone County, AL72174.2$2.6M+18.0%#191 of 1,451
6Autauga County, AL7062.6$3.8M+5.1%#226 of 1,451
7St. Clair County, AL64133.7$2.8M+7.1%#365 of 1,451
8Coffee County, AL6483.8$2.6M+6.3%#372 of 1,451
9Cullman County, AL60133.7$2.9M+6.7%#458 of 1,451
10Tuscaloosa County, AL59374.1$2.2M+3.8%#500 of 1,451
23Russell County, AL35114.6$1.8M−0.6%#1,101 of 1,451

Other business types in Russell County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many car washes and detailers are in Russell County, AL?

There are 11 car washes and detailers on map listings in Russell County as of September 2026. 4 of them (36%) are chain locations. The listings count car washes and detailers. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as car washes in 2023.

How much do households in Russell County, AL spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $19.5M a year, or $816 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 car washes and detailers on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per location. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only car washes and detailers. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,938 households in Russell County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Russell County, AL compare with the U.S. for car washes and detailers?

Russell County has 4.6 car washes and detailers per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.8. Spending per location is $1.8M, 29% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of car washes and detailers to household spending, Russell County would have about 8, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,979 households, against one for every 6,523 across the U.S.

How fast is Russell County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Russell County at 58,898 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,938 households. Median household income in Russell County is $51,197, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.6%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Russell County scores 35 for car washes and detailers (lower middle), #1,101 of 1,451 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Russell County. It maps the car washes and detailers on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for car washes and detailers · All 56 business types in Russell County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Russell County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Russell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.